Architecture+&+Art

= Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture=

Several pieces of Ancient Egypt's art and architecture are famous throughout the world, such as the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. There is no doubt that the Ancient Egyptians were extraordinarily skilled artists and architects; we can understand this fact by merely looking at some of the structures and pieces of art they have created. Much of the reason Ancient Egyptian architecture looks the way it does is because wood was scarce in Ancient Egypt, so the people of Ancient Egypt had make do with whatever else they could find to build with. They had some stone, and plenty of mud, as the Ancient Egyptians lived on the banks of the Nile River, so they made use of these materials to create their buildings and other structures. The Ancient Egyptians would take the mud and shape it into bricks, and then bake it in the sun to make mud bricks that they could use to build all kinds of structures. Since mud was far more plentiful than stone, stone was usually only used in temples and tombs, as religion and the afterlife were incredibly important to the Ancient Egyptians. All other structures were generally made entirely of mud brick, even palaces and fortresses. In monumental structures, all the doorways were made with post-and-lintel construction even though the arch had already been developed in the fourth dynasty. They have flat roofs made of stone blocks supported by closely spaced columns as well as internal walls. The artistic ability of the Ancient Egyptians is also evident in these structures; the columns and walls are often covered with hieroglyphics as well as pictures of people and events. In their religious structures, such as temples and tombs, there are often statues in addition to pictures and hieroglyphics.[|source]

Here are some examples of how the Ancient Egyptians have managed to combine architecture and art in some of their structures:

This is the temple Abu Simbel that Ramseys, a pharaoh in Ancient Eygypt, had build in honor of himself. At the entrance are huge statues of himself.[|(source)]  This is the Avenue of the Sphinx at the Luxor Temple in Ancient Egypt. [|(source)] The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx are two of the most famous monuments in Ancient Egypt and also show the Ancient Egyptians' great artistic and architectural skills. [|(source)] [|How the Great Pyramid at Giza was Built] This page discusses a possible theory of how the famous Great Pyramid might have been built.

How does all this relate to today?
Ancient Egyptian architecture and art has provided the basis for much of the art and architecture we have today. For example, the Ancient Egyptians built obelisks, which they then sometimes carved hieroglyphics or pictures into. An obelisk is a tall, narrow, four-sided structure with a pyramidal top. Here is an example of an Ancient Egyptian obelisk. Take a look at these two obelisks side by side and notice how much they look alike. This Ancient Egyptian obelisk bears a striking resemblance to the famous Washington Monument in Washington, D.C, although the Washington Monument is far larger than the Egyptian obelisk. This particular obelisk is located at the Karnak temple in Egypt.

[|(Egyptian obelisk photo source)] [|(Washington Monument Photo Source)]  What impresses modern architects and engineers is the mechanics and methods used in moving huge masses of building material. The ancient Egyptians used choreographed teams of foremen, a large quantity of workers.They were able to use a large collection of supplies because they were able to excavate the supplies and transport them to the building site, obviously without the modern technology of locomotives. Most believe they used a combination of ramps and sleds to transport the bricks, each weighing roughly one ton. They also had a very exact blueprint to work with in order to make a pyramidal shape structure. And they did all this within the timetable given to them for completion. It is hard to imagine that this could be possible, but the pyramids themselves provide evidence that it was accomplished. Civilizations and nations around the world continued to model the Egyptian techniques for building with limited technology. For instance the Romans copied the Egyptians ideas to move large stones in the building of Baalbek.

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"Egyptians were the first builders ever known to man; they taught humanity how to design and erect buildings; thus laying grounds for human civilization, urbanization and man's settlement in a specific homeland of his own for the first time in history."--quote from source---http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/construct.htm